Cigar band
Encyclopedia
A cigar band is a loop made of paper or foil fitted around the body of a cigar
to denote its brand or variety. Although origins of the device are the subject of several legends, modern historians credit a European immigrant to Cuba
named Gustave Bock with invention of the cigar band in the 1830s. Within two decades, banding of cigars exported from Havana
became almost universal.
Their use remains very much a part of modern cigar production, with a recent trend towards larger and more elaborate designs in evidence. Cigar bands are considered a collectible by some people today, with collectors organized into a group called the International Label, Seal and Cigar Band Society.
Tsaritsa
Catherine the Great took cigars wrapped in silk
so as not to stain her fingers, with members of her court beginning to wrap cigars in fabric bands in emulation of the queen. Similarly, tales have been told of paper bands used on cigars exported to England
to prevent the staining of gentlemen's white gloves.
These fanciful theories aside, cigar historians credit Dutch
-born cigarmaker Gustave Bock with the invention of the cigar band in the 1830s, when he ordered paper rings with his signature on them placed on every cigar intended for export to Europe. In this way, an indication of quality and prestige would be lent to Bock's products, he believed. By the middle of the 1850s, virtually all Cuban cigarmakers were banding their exported cigars, registering their marks with the government and urging consumers to insist on banded products.
became very important in the fiercely competitive marketplace as makers struggled to win and keep market share. With the cost of production of cigar bands approximately 70 cents per thousand, the use of colorful maker's marks became an important tool for building brand identities. Historians estimate that approximately 2 billion cigar bands were sold in the United States in the year 1900 alone.
Cigar bands in the early 20th Century were precut by the printer and generally were shipped in bundles of 100. Bands were applied by hand as one of the final stages of the production process, with the cigarmaker generally backing the band with a dab of plant-based glue to hold it in place on the finished cigar. Bands produced in Europe were typically carefully designed to match packaging motiffs while in the United States many bands bore to the boxes or inner paper in which they were packaged.
Cigar bands were also used as a primitive form of trading stamps by some cigarmakers of the early 20th Century, with at least one company producing an illustrated catalog replete with premiums which could be received in exchange for dozens, hundreds, or thousands of its bands.
From the 1920s onward, cigar bands have tended to become less artistically appealing and more utilitarian, owing to the spread of low cost four-color printing
. In tandem with this change, the growth of the use of cigarettes dramatically reduced the number of cigar manufacturers thereby lessening their need for brand differentiation.
by scrapbookers
— surviving specimens of which are eagerly sought today by collectors of folk art
.
Vintage and modern cigar bands are collected today, with collectors joined into an organization called the International Label, Seal and Cigar Band Society. The largest collection of bands was accumulated by American collector Joe Hruby, listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for a collection of over 165,000 distinct varieties of bands — although that number had ballooned to over 221,000 varieties by 1999.
bands have been traditionally removed, the retention of the brand names being commonly considered a form of impolite boasting by one smoker amongst his fellows. Elsewhere, whether or not one retains the band while the cigar is being smoked is deemed a matter of personal preference.
Removal of the band is sometimes difficult when a cigar is freshly lit, although in short order the heat of the smoke generally loosens any adhesive glue impeding the band's removal.
Cigar
A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...
to denote its brand or variety. Although origins of the device are the subject of several legends, modern historians credit a European immigrant to Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
named Gustave Bock with invention of the cigar band in the 1830s. Within two decades, banding of cigars exported from Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
became almost universal.
Their use remains very much a part of modern cigar production, with a recent trend towards larger and more elaborate designs in evidence. Cigar bands are considered a collectible by some people today, with collectors organized into a group called the International Label, Seal and Cigar Band Society.
Origins
The origin of the use of cigar bands is steeped in myth. One legend has it that RussianRussian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
Tsaritsa
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
Catherine the Great took cigars wrapped in silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
so as not to stain her fingers, with members of her court beginning to wrap cigars in fabric bands in emulation of the queen. Similarly, tales have been told of paper bands used on cigars exported to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to prevent the staining of gentlemen's white gloves.
These fanciful theories aside, cigar historians credit Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
-born cigarmaker Gustave Bock with the invention of the cigar band in the 1830s, when he ordered paper rings with his signature on them placed on every cigar intended for export to Europe. In this way, an indication of quality and prestige would be lent to Bock's products, he believed. By the middle of the 1850s, virtually all Cuban cigarmakers were banding their exported cigars, registering their marks with the government and urging consumers to insist on banded products.
Heyday of cigars
At the turn of the 20th Century an estimated four out of five American men smoked cigars, with production handled in literally hundreds of factories. Product differentiationProduct differentiation
In economics and marketing, product differentiation is the process of distinguishing a product or offering from others, to make it more attractive to a particular target market. This involves differentiating it from competitors' products as well as a firm's own product offerings...
became very important in the fiercely competitive marketplace as makers struggled to win and keep market share. With the cost of production of cigar bands approximately 70 cents per thousand, the use of colorful maker's marks became an important tool for building brand identities. Historians estimate that approximately 2 billion cigar bands were sold in the United States in the year 1900 alone.
Band production
With advances in printing technology, cigar bands became brighter and more pictorial as the 19th Century drew to a close. The bands and box art of the period 1890 to 1920 is reckoned today as the "Golden Age" of cigar-related artwork.Cigar bands in the early 20th Century were precut by the printer and generally were shipped in bundles of 100. Bands were applied by hand as one of the final stages of the production process, with the cigarmaker generally backing the band with a dab of plant-based glue to hold it in place on the finished cigar. Bands produced in Europe were typically carefully designed to match packaging motiffs while in the United States many bands bore to the boxes or inner paper in which they were packaged.
Cigar bands were also used as a primitive form of trading stamps by some cigarmakers of the early 20th Century, with at least one company producing an illustrated catalog replete with premiums which could be received in exchange for dozens, hundreds, or thousands of its bands.
From the 1920s onward, cigar bands have tended to become less artistically appealing and more utilitarian, owing to the spread of low cost four-color printing
Offset printing
Offset printing is a commonly used printing technique in which the inked image is transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface...
. In tandem with this change, the growth of the use of cigarettes dramatically reduced the number of cigar manufacturers thereby lessening their need for brand differentiation.
Collectibility
Cigar bands were sometimes collected by children during the so-called "Golden Age" of cigar art due to their varied and colorful nature and their ready availability. The bright bands were sometimes collected and combined into collage artCollage
A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole....
by scrapbookers
Scrapbook
Scrapbook can refer to:* Scrapbooking, the process of making a scrapbook* Scrapbook , a Mac OS application* Scrapbook , a Switchblade Symphony album* Scrapbook * ScrapBook, a Firefox extension...
— surviving specimens of which are eagerly sought today by collectors of folk art
Folk art
Folk art encompasses art produced from an indigenous culture or by peasants or other laboring tradespeople. In contrast to fine art, folk art is primarily utilitarian and decorative rather than purely aesthetic....
.
Vintage and modern cigar bands are collected today, with collectors joined into an organization called the International Label, Seal and Cigar Band Society. The largest collection of bands was accumulated by American collector Joe Hruby, listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for a collection of over 165,000 distinct varieties of bands — although that number had ballooned to over 221,000 varieties by 1999.
Smoking etiquette
The matter of whether to leave a cigar band on while the cigar is being smoked is a matter of some debate. In Great BritainUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
bands have been traditionally removed, the retention of the brand names being commonly considered a form of impolite boasting by one smoker amongst his fellows. Elsewhere, whether or not one retains the band while the cigar is being smoked is deemed a matter of personal preference.
Removal of the band is sometimes difficult when a cigar is freshly lit, although in short order the heat of the smoke generally loosens any adhesive glue impeding the band's removal.
External links
- "Up in Smoke" Cigar Band Museum index page, International Label, Seal and Cigar Band Society. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
See also
- cigarCigarA cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...
- List of cigar brands
- Santa Fe Warbonnet paint scheme